One Year Later
"You're sure you wanna do this? Yeh don't have to go back, y'know. You're old enough and don't necessarily need your N.E.W.T.S. ..." my dad said as we were parting on Platform Nine and Three Quarters at King's Cross Station in London.
"Dad, you know that in order for me to get any decent jobs I'll need my N.E.W.T.S. Besides, I'm curious to see how the castle looks. Took 'em a whole year to rebuild it! Surprised it didn't take longer..."
"Speaking as someone that volunteered two summers of helping, it'd better be done by now. Merlin, that job was a right pain in me bum." Dad grinned, the lines in the corners of his hazel eyes deepening.
"All right, Luc? Haven't seen you in ages! You look good," said a Sixth year Gryffindor girl that would have been in her Seventh had the school not been shut down for a year to be rebuilt.
"Nice to see you again, Stella." I smiled politely at her, then turned back to my father, who was watching my younger brother mingle with a few friends that had spent a great portion of the past summer at our house in Clavering.
"Y'know you got a couple of new teachers, right?" said Dad.
"Yeah. I heard that Professor McGonagall didn't want to teach Transfiguration and run the school at the same time, and it wouldn't be a new year at Hogwarts if we didn't have a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher..."
Dad chuckled.
"I know who it is," he taunted.
"Who?" I raised my eyebrows.
He grinned. "Prepare yourself, daughter. You'll be excited."
"Who is it? Peeves?" I snickered, recalling the meddlesome poltregiest that existed purely to annoy the students and staff members of the castle.
"No... He'd make a good teacher though, wouldn't he?" Dad smiled - he did always have a good sense of humor. "Professor Lupin's coming back. Apparently there was some sort of agreement made...I dunno the details."
I smiled, feeling quite happy to hear the news. There was still one question in mind...
"Dad, d'ya know if Professor Snape is going to teach?" I asked quietly as I glanced at Alex, my younger brother, who was having his dark hair ruffled by his friend's dad.
"No. I haven't heard anything about Professor Snape returning. Nobody really knows much about him these days. Seems to be keeping quiet... Probably sick of people butting into his personal life."
Over the previous summer, Professor Snape had been making quite a few appearances in the Daily Prophet in regards to his trial. He had barely made a full recovery when those Ministry bastards immediately tore at him for his work as a Death Eater, even if he was on our side and helped saved the whole wizarding world. The only things that allowed him to escape a sentence in Azkaban were Dumbledore's pensieve and several witnesses coming to his defense. He walked away with a nine-hundred Galleon fine and a slap on the wrist.
"I don't blame him. I feel so bad for him..." I said quietly, looking down at our feet.
I felt my father's eyes on me.
"Something tells me that's not all you feel for him." He snickered.
"Father..." I muttered.
"I didn't say anything! Anyway, the train's about to leave. You'd better get on board." He pulled me into a hug.
"Alright. Bye, Dad. I love you."
"I love you too, gorgeous. Oh - one more thing... Why isn't Robbie here to send you off?" He pulled back from our hug and rubbed my shoulders as he stared down at me.
"He's training. He sent me an owl this morning, going on about how a Bludger nearly broke his arm yesterday..."
Dad rolled his eyes. "How he's playing for England is beyond me..."
"Dad! He's not that bad."
"I'm sure he's alright and all... He's just a bit of a twit." He grinned.
I smiled a bit. "Well, that's true..."
After boarding the train, I changed into my robes at once so I wouldn't have to later. I got an empty compartment and sighed as the train moved, carrying all of us off to the newly rebuilt Hogwarts. I felt nervous, excited, and slightly depressed at the thought of returning. I had missed it there, even if it was scary at times.
The compartment door slid open to reveal Alex, who was changed into his robes as well. The difference between our robes, aside from the sizes (his being longer due to him being about four inches taller than me), were the crests on our chests. Mine had a silver snake to represent Slytherin House, while his had a silver eagle to represent Ravenclaw House. Our family, which had been strictly Pure-blood until a few of our mother's and father's siblings had married some Muggle-borns and Half-bloods, were mostly Ravenclaws and Gryffindors (with the occasional Hufflepuff). I was the first one to be sorted into Slytherin in six generations. Well, six on our father's side - it was unknown about our mother's.
My family was certainly more pleased about my brother getting into Ravenclaw than they were with me being sorted into Slytherin. They weren't ashamed, just...not too enthusiastic. Understandable, because Slytherin did have a bad reputation for turning out a lot of Dark wizards. Little did my family know, I had a strong interest in the Dark Arts (nothing that would push me over to the Dark Lord's side, but...) - in fact, hardly anyone knew. The only person that knew about my fixation on Dark Magic was my friend and fellow Slytherin Housemate named Samantha O'Hara, who was in my year.
"Nervous?" Alex asked as he closed the door behind himself and took a seat across from me.
Alex was quite a handsome boy, to be honest. His wavy, dark brown hair was short and always slightly messy. At age sixteen, he was five foot eight and still growing, and his thin frame was beginning to fill out so he looked less lanky. Since he was very young, I had always noticed a resemblence between him and our older cousin named Bane, who was also a Ravenclaw student during his days at Hogwarts.
"Slightly. Are you?" I shifted in my seat to get more comfortable, trying to keep my nerves as calm as possible.
"Well...a bit. I mean, I've been studying the past year and stuff, but it's just... wh-when You-Know-Who was really gaining power and the battle happened, I just kinda thought that was it - no more Hogwarts. When you apparated us back home, I thought it was going to be the last time I'd ever see the castle. Going back now is just surreal and I...I can't fathom all of it." He narrowed his almond-shaped eyes (a feature a father passed on to both of us, color and all) at the compartment door.
"I understand how you feel. It was a scary time for all of us. The best thing for everyone to do is just try to move on and make the most out of what we're given."
He turned his head forward and faced me again.
"How'd you end up in Slytherin, Luc? I swear, you're too nice to be in that House."
"Not all Slytherins are bad," I said coolly. "Most just do it for show. Y'know Draco Malfoy? All talk. I saw him in the common room in my third year with Crabbe and Goyle, and y'know what they were doing? Eating cauldron cakes and sipping tea, going on about how they think Flitwick's a good teacher. ...well, Draco was; Crabbe and Goyle just nodded along because they're stupid."
Alex laughed.
"Draco the-flaming-git Malfoy? Serious?"
"Serious!" I smiled at him. "Never judge a book by its cover."
He smiled at me, his crooked left canine tooth more visible than usual.
"I'm going to go find some of the boys. You alright on your own?"
"Of course. Tell them I said 'hullo' and I hope they're well." I reached into my black messenger bag and pulled out my Potions book.
"Will do. See you later, sis."
Alex got up from his seat and left quickly, the ends of his robes nearly getting caught when the door shut. I snickered quietly and flipped through some of the pages.
"You'll have to work on your grace, Alex..." I muttered as my eyes wandered over to a section dedicated to Amoratentia.
Over the past summer, Alex had gained an interest in working for the Ministry of Magic as an Unspeakable. Of course, nobody knew what they did, and the pamphlet that our mother had brought home from work (she worked as an Obliviator for the Ministry of Magic) was nothing short of useless. The only thing the pamphlet contained was moving question marks in various colors and designs across the page. This, of course, appealed to Alex since he was always one to be curious.
While our mother worked as an Obliviator, our father was a Magical Law Enforcement Patrol Officer for the Ministry of Magic. Unlike my parents and brother, I had no desire to work for the Ministry. I hated the bastards. Well..."hate" wasn't exactly the proper word, but I strongly disliked them and, in my opinion, they were a very corrupted operation like any other politically-based outfit in existence.
A little bit after Alex had left, Samantha entered the compartment and took a seat across from me, right where Alex had been sitting. She was dressed in Muggle street clothes (a light-blue jumper, some khaki pants and a pair of navy blue Converse sneakers). Her wavy, dark blonde hair fell past her shoulders in beautiful light curls; her bangs swooped across her forehead and the sides of her hair feathered into her lightly-tanned, blushing face, shaping her square jawline beautifully.
"Honestly, you never pull your nose out of that thing. Training up for your boyfriend now that he's out of hospital and ready for some hot, sweet lovin' from his Slytherin mistress?" She smirked.
I gasped and lowered my book. I clapped a hand over my mouth, feigning shock.
"How did you know?" I exclaimed, marking my page ("The Dangers of Long-Term Use of Polyjuice Potion") and quickly closing my book.
"I've mastered the art of Occlumency over the last year." She grinned in her usual joking manner. "I've missed you, you dirty trollop! Why haven't you written?"
"I've been busy with my family and doing a bit of work at Flourish and Blotts to pick up some money. I'm sorry that I haven't written to you in... in..."
"Six. Months. D'you know how heartbreaking that is for me? I thought I was your right-hand lover. Clearly I've been replaced by... by... Family! And work! Hmpf!" She crossed her arms and stuck her up-turned nose into the air.
I smiled at her; she broke character and giggled.
"How's Flourish and Blotts? I'm surprised I didn't see you at all when I'd visited there."
"I only worked three days a week. How often did you visit?"
"Well...like, twice. But that's beside the point!"
I rolled my eyes. "Twit."
"Old bitty."
"Knobhead."
"Tosspot."
"Inarticulate bubblehead."
"Oohh, that was very Professor Snape of you."
"Thank you."
"Git."
"I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, you harlet. C'mere!" She stood up and opened her arms.
I stood up and embraced her, feeling happy to finally be with one of my few friends.
Hours later - I had no idea how many - we arrived at Hogwarts. It was already nighttime; the inky, velvety sky was scattered with millions of brilliant stars, and a beautiful moon was shining exceptionally bright overhead. Hagrid the half-Giant, who taught Care of Magical Creatures and was the gamekeeper, led the First years to the Black Lake while Second years and older went to the carriages that were pulled by Thestrals (invisible to those that had never watched someone die - I had never witnessed a death before, so in my eyes the carriages looked like they were pulling themselves). We rode the trail from Hogsmeade Station up to the giant, stone castle that contained many towers and stories that it'd nearly take an average person's entire lifetime to discover every secret, nook and cranny that the thousand years-plus castle contained.
Once arriving at the castle, we went through the main gates that looked the same as they had before the final war. We followed the stone path up to the main entrance, which led into a very large, open room that could have fit the entire school and a maybe the population of Hogsmeade in it at once. There was a flight of stone stairs off to the right of the room that led to the Great Hall, which was where all of the magnificent feasts were held and where everyone dined. The stairs in front of the entrance door led you to the main corridors where one could venture off to different classes, secret rooms, and the Grand Staircase.
To the far left of the room, there were two different doors. One led to the dungeons where Potions class and the Slytherin common room was located, and the other led to the basement where the kitchens and the Hufflepuff common room were. Also, if one knew where to look, there was a secret passage that led from the basement into the Boathouse that was located out on the Grounds.
"Didja hear that Professor Lupin is back?" a Seventh year Gryffindor boy whispered behind Samantha and me.
"Yeah! He's also Head of Gryffindor House!" whispered another Seventh year Gryffindor.
"Wonder who's teaching Potions?" I muttered.
"Dunno. I know it ain't Slughorn," said Samantha.
"Thank God. I never liked him."
We entered the Great Hall, which was a room as large as the main entrance that was lined with four very long tables (one for each Hogwarts House). The staff table was elevated on a platform at the end of the room with all of the teachers and the Headmistress. All but two chairs were filled - Professor Lupin was not present, and I saw no sign of Professor Snape. The only unfamiliar face was the new Transfiguration teacher, who was a stout witch with red hair and a very friendly face.
Headmistress McGonagall, who was once Head of Gryffindor House and the Transfiguration teacher, sat in the middle of the staff in the chair that Samantha and I had always called "The Throne." During our previous year at Hogwarts, Professor Snape had been Headmaster on Dumbledore's (the previous Headmaster) orders. While many were outraged, people eventually warmed up to him leading the school. Some (Slytherins) faster than others (Gryffindors).
Once Samantha and I took our seats at the Slytherin table, we watched as the First years (which there were twice as many as usual) were led up to the front of the room where a small stool rested with a beat-up, patched wizard's hat perched on top of it. It was the school's old Sorting Hat, which was placed on top of your head and sorted you into your House. It whispered into your ear as it went through your thoughts, then it would shout your House out to the school.
Professor Lupin, who looked to be in the best health that I had ever seen him in, stood in front of the school and called out each student's name. One by one little eleven and twelve year olds marched up to be sorted.
"Barker, Nick!" Lupin called from the long roll of parchment.
A timid-looking eleven year old with messy black hair took a seat on the stool and had the hat placed onto his head.
"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted.
Everyone in the hall, especially the Ravenclaw table, erupted into loud applause.
"Barnes, Loki!"
A tall boy with blond hair walked up and took a seat. The hat went over his head and within seconds it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"
There was an outbreak of very loud applause from our table. Loki got off the stool and walked toward our table, and took a seat next to a couple of Fifth year boys.
After the sorting, Headmistress McGonagall gave a speech about the rebuilding of the castle. She toasted to Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Ginny Weasley (who all had returned to take their N.E.W.T.S.) in honor of their noble work in bringing down the Dark Lord. After the toast, McGonagall gave another toast to the staff members that played part in the downfall of the Dark Lord, and when she dropped Snape's name, Samantha nudged me and made dirty, sexual hand gestures that earned her glares from some of the prissy girls at the Slytherin and Ravenclaw tables.
Then her speech droned on to toasting to the dead... Then she finally welcomed everyone that was returning, and those that were there for their first year. She warned us about the Forbidden Forest, and told us to mind the caretaker, Argus Filch, and give him no grief, even though most of the student body was going to anyway. Finally, after what seemed like hours of endless rattling, the feast began. There were hundreds of silver platters lined with chicken, treacle tart, roasted potatoes, yorkshire pudding, ham, turkey, spaghetti bolognese, roast beef, lamb shanks, bubble and squeak, yams - it was hard to keep track of everything.
While the food was mouth-watering, and from what I had seen of the castle at that point in time, it all looked the same as it had before. Still, the absence of Professor Snape concerned me, and it was all that I could think about while I stared up at the staff table, ignoring different classmates that tried to speak to me ("How was your year, Geller?", "All right there, Luc?", "Lucy! It's been too long! What've you been up to?"). There were a few times that Samantha had snapped at a couple of particularly annoying Sixth years that wouldn't stop cracking jokes about my zombie-like, unfixed stare at the empty chair next to Professor Lupin.
After dinner, Headmistress McGonagall gave a final few words and sent us off to bed. Classes would begin the following morning and I knew that being in my final year meant having to study harder than I had ever done so in the past. Yet while I laid in our dorm that night, tossing and turning in my four-poster bed that was right across from Samantha's, all I could think about was where Professor Snape was, and if he was okay wherever he was.